Easy Apple Baked Oatmeal: Vegan and Glutenfree

Happy New Year! Although I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions, I do think it's a great time for small changes you can make to improve your (and your family's) life. One resolution this year is to pay special attention to SUGAR in our family's diet. It's amazing how easily it is to eat sugar, even if you avoid dessert and treats. Sugar can be found in baked goods, yogurt and even milk! And I know my kids get enough sugar in their diets even if we try to avoid all extra sweet treats and desserts. 

So, to stay on the lower sugar trend, I can't wait to share this easy Apple Baked Oatmeal recipe with you that's vegan and gluten-free. I adapted it from this recipe, and cut the sugar in half (actually, even more than that!).

This apple baked oatmeal is a time-tested recipe that I've made about every month for the past 3 years. WOW. I'd say it's about time to post it! Of course it's dairy free, egg free and allergy-friendly. It's also gluten free as long as you use gluten free oats.


My Little Guy with food allergies just LOVES this baked oatmeal. I usually just cut it into squares, leave a few pieces in the refrigerator to eat for the next few days, and then freeze the rest of the squares for future breakfasts, snacks or to pop in lunchboxes. It's just as moist and delicious after it's been frozen. 

Simple, homemade, real food in an instant!

This isn't the prettiest photo of my baked oatmeal from the freezer, but real life isn't always pretty. Ha!

Like me and the hubs, Little Guy LOVES the apples and always asks me to put more in the baked oatmeal. 5 year old Little Gal doesn't like the pieces of apples as much. So, I usually cut the apples in big enough pieces for her to easily pick them out (or in reality, for me to take them out for her). That method seems to work for all of us!

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Easy Apple Baked Oatmeal: Vegan and Gluten-free

Makes 12 large servings. Makes 24 servings for smaller (kid-sized) squares.

WET INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 3 cups milk* 
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup oil (I've used coconut or canola oil in the past)
• 6 tsp vanilla extract

*Any kind of milk work. I've personally used coconut milk and soymilk in the past. If your milk has no sugar in it, you could slightly increase the sugar in this recipe.

DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups rolled oats (use gluten-free if needed)
• 2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 Tbsp flax meal
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 diced apples (Put in as many or as little as you want. I usually add in about 1 - 2 cups of diced apples).

DIRECTIONS:

• Mix together wet ingredients in large bowl (no mixer needed, just use a spoon!)
• Mix together dry ingredients in separate bowl with whisk or fork
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with spoon or spatula
• Pour mixture into 9 x 13 greased pan
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until slightly golden brown around edges, and slightly firm in the middle
• Let cool before serving to make sure it doesn't fall apart when cutting it

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Are you on Pinterest?  Don't forget to pin this recipe! You might also like some of the other vegan baked goods pins on my Pinterest board. Check them out and let me know if you have any other favorite vegan baked good recipes that can feed a crowd!

Sunbutter Overnight Oats

I wish I had the time and skill to create beautiful blog posts full of high quality, professional looking photos and amazing recipes. But that's not what this blog is all about.

This blog is a little more "real" since I don't have time to setup beautiful food photography shots or try out tons of different recipes until it's perfect. I might have time to put the ingredients in one shot, or put everything on a colorful place mat, but that's usually it!

The recipes I make are exactly what I feed my family. The photos I post are taken right before we EAT! So, when a toddler and preschooler are whining for food, the photo is going to be....let's just say...REAL.

Since life is so busy, I appreciate fast and healthy food, just as I know you do.  

So, I give you my favorite breakfast of the moment. 

Sunbutter Overnight Oats

This "mix and eat recipe" is super easy, healthy, and it tastes like a cool, creamy treat. I eat it for breakfast a few times a week, and I even eat a few spoonfuls at night sometimes if I'm hungry before bed.

I also love this because I make it the night before work, pop it in my work bag, and I know I'll have a healthy breakfast to eat right when I sit down at my desk.

The night before, you start with an empty Sunbutter jar like this. Actually, I like a little more leftover Sunbutter in the jar than is pictured.

You gather your ingredients: Sunbutter, soymilk, quick oats and ground flaxseed.

Measure the ingredients the first time, and wing it once you know how much to put in the next time!

The next morning, your oats are perfectly creamy and ready to eat. I like taking the jar to work with toppings like coconut yogurt or a banana.

It's not the prettiest picture, I know, but it's a perfectly delicious breakfast!!

Here's the recipe:

Sunbutter Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 1 jar "empty" Sunbutter (you know, the kind where there's a little left in the jar but not enough to spread on a sandwich)
• 1 cup soymilk (The soymilk give this a sweet taste. If you use no sugar soymilk, you may want to add a little sweetness to this with maple syrup or honey).
• 1 cup quick oats (make sure they're not steel cut or whole oats as the texture won't be as creamy after soaking overnight)
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• Toppings: I use banana, but it's also fun to add yogurt, berries or other fruit.

Recipe:

Mix all ingredients together the night before.  Add toppings right before you eat this creamy concoction!

Are you an overnight oats fan? How do you like to eat your oats?

Sunbutter did not sponsor this post. We eat it every day in our house! This post includes Amazon affiliate links which means if you buy something through them I receive a few cents, at no cost to you.

Nut Free Granola Bars

I don't know about you, but I have certain recipes I make over and over again. This recipe for nut free granola bars is one of them. It has been a staple in our house ever since I bought food allergy friendly Gerbs Raw Sunflower Seeds a few weeks ago.

Since we can't buy granola bars at the grocery store (seriously, if you can find an egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free and sesame-free granola bar at the grocery store - please let me know!), I make batches of these every other week. We eat most of them (they go FAST!) and then I freeze the rest for a quick and portable snack for the kiddos.

These are similar to the pumpkin chocolate chip granola bars I previously posted, but with a nuttier flavor and texture. I like this new version better because it includes less sugar and I love the nutty taste and crunchier texture of the sunflower seeds.

I call them granola bars since it's a granola bar substitute in our house. But I could also call them nut free oat bars since they're a little softer and chewier than traditional granola bars you buy in the store.

Whatever you call them...they're delicious and addicting!

Sometimes I pop a small one out of the freezer to satisfy a sweet craving. It's JUST sweet enough. I figure it's a healthier option than candy or cookies.

Here's the recipe. Hope you try it!

Nut Free Granola Bar Recipe

Dry Ingredients:

• 6 cups old fashioned oats
• 3/4 cups raw unsalted sunflower seeds (we use Gerbs Raw Sunflower Seeds) 
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (we use these since they're food allergy friendly)

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I recently started only using 1/4 to cut down on sugar. Works great! Also, I included this with the wet ingredients since you mix it in with all the wet ingredients first)
• 1 cup honey (or agave nectar - maple syrup would probably work too)
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (make sure to buy plain, not pumpkin pie puree)
• 6 Tbsp oil (I use organic canola oil)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk EXCEPT for the chocolate chips 
• Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon or spatula
• Add the chocolate chips and stir until distributed throughout 
• Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper and add the granola bar mixture to the pan. Spread it, press it down and smooth it with a spatula so the granola bars are flat.
• Bake at 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes or until golden brown
• Let cool and cut as you wish.

Here are the awesome food allergy friendly Gerbs Raw Sunflower Seeds I used for this recipe. I actually bought the raw and lightly salted versions.  I'd highly recommend the raw/plain kind, but I found the lightly salted kind tasted a little too salty. I've been using the salty kind in salads and I plan to make trail mix with them. Next time I'll just buy the raw kind so I can control the amount of salt by adding my own.

As I said, this is a major REPEAT recipe for us - I keep making it over and over again! What's your favorite repeat recipe!? 

Linking this to Real Food Recipe Roundup!

You may also like: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Healthy First Birthday Cake: Dairy-free, Egg-free and Gluten-free

A few weeks ago I wrote about Little Gals' perfect first birthday party. But I didn't write much about the yummiest part - the cake and cupcakes! Although we haven't seen signs of food allergies in Little Gal (saying prayers that we don't!), I still needed to make the cake and cupcakes gluten, egg, dairy, nut and sesame free since Little Guy has food allergies. That means no bakery made cakes!

I not only wanted to make safe cakes and cupcakes for Little Guy, but I also wanted to make a healthy first birthday cake for Little Gal. I decided to use the oat muffin recipe from Sophie-Safe Cooking to make Little Gal's healthy birthday cake. I like that the recipe focuses on oats and contains less sugar than other birthday cake recipes I've found. This recipe makes 12 small muffins, so it also fit perfectly into a 6 inch cake pan - a perfect first birthday cake size!

Little Gal's First Birthday Cake. Main ingredient: Oats!

I also used Cybele Pascal's recipe for allergy-friendly vanilla frosting and it turned out GREAT. It's thick enough to make pretty decorations and it tastes just like traditional frosting. *Sadly, Cybele's blog is no longer available! Here is another allergy friendly buttercream icing from Kids with Food Allergies that looks similar and just as easy and tasty!

Here are some other tips of how I made Little Gal's first birthday cakes and cupcakes:

1. Make a small special cake just for baby. Why? Because it's fun! Buy a 6 inch cake pan for the baby cake. I think it's fun to put a small cake in front of them rather than a cupcake or REALLY big cake. So, you have one cake (and/or cupcakes) to serve the guests and one for baby to get messy!

I used a 6 inch cake pan for baby's first birthday cake.

2. Buy a pastry bag and cake decoration kit. You can buy this at the grocery store or online. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it works much better than a Ziplock bag!

I wasn't about to decorate all this with a ziplock bag. Pastry bag to the rescue!

3. Keep it simple with the icing decorations. This is especially true if you are a novice cake baker and decorator like me! I made simple designs with my pastry bag like dots and swirls.

Keep the icing decorations simple!

4. Use fresh flowers for colorful decoration. This is especially great if you want to avoid artificial food coloring and dyes, but I still wanted a pretty cake with a little color!

5. Be creative with your "1" decoration. I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips which are dairy-free to decorate the cake for the guests. We put a "1" candle on Little Gal's cake. I've also seen cool "1" designs with sprinkles, fruit or other safe candy.

I planned on making one big chocolate cake using Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix and one oat cake for Little Gal. I was worried I didn't have enough (boy was I wrong!) so I made one more batch of cupcakes using Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix.  I made the cake in the same way as I did for my strawberry twist cake, and Little Guy's Fireman third birthday party cake.

Here are all the allergy-friendly cupcakes and cakes that are dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free!

I was happy that someone asked me for my recipe for the chocolate cake. I had to tell her it was directly from Betty Crocker's kitchen! 

Here are some examples of the supplies I used to create the first birthday cakes and cupcakes. Hope they're useful to you!

This is NOT a sponsored post, and I was not paid to include these products. This is what I actually used for our first birthday party celebration! This post does include affiliate Amazon links. That means I may get a few cents if you buy something on Amazon from these links. Thanks for your support!

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars

Hope everyone had a good Food Allergy Awareness Week last week. There was definitely some great information floating around...and great allergy-friendly recipes!

Since it was a bit warmer this weekend I decided to try a new "no bake" recipe so I didn't have to turn on my oven.  Even though this recipe IS no bake, I don't want to officially name it no bake since you have to warm some of the ingredients in a pot for a few minutes. However, I still didn't have to turn on my oven!  

This decadent recipe for Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars was inspired by this recipe, which I doubled. The bars I made are sweet, chewy and a little crunchy. They're definitely more of a dessert than a granola bar, but either way, they sure do make my mouth happy :)

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars: Sweet, chewy and a little crunchy

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats 
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 2/3 cup cereal (I used Uncle Sam's wheat flakes which are not gluten-free, but you can use any gluten free cereal option - Rice Krispies, Cornflakes, Corn or Rice Chex, etc.)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (I used Trader's Joe's) or another oil like organic canola oil
• 1 cup Sunbutter (or any nut butter that's safe for you)
• 2/3 cup honey

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bar Ingredients

Directions:

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
• Melt the coconut oil, Sunbutter and honey in a saucepan on the stove for a few minutes
• Add melted mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well
• Pour everything into an 8 x 8 pan lined with wax paper (for easier cutting and clean-up)
• Refrigerate for a few hours, cut and enjoy!

Here are the bars after they had been in the refrigerator for 3 hours. So easy to let them "cook" in the fridge!

The bars also cut so nicely with a big kitchen knife. I just lifted the wax paper out of the pan and cut the bars into squares.

YUM.

I wrapped the remaining bars (and there aren't many!) in wax paper and I'm storing them in the fridge. They'd probably hold up nicely in the freezer which I may try next time.

So, my weekend was filled with food (yummy chocolate coconut oat bars included), family and fun!  We all enjoyed the rides and sights at a local festival.  See goofy pictures below :)

What kind of fun did you have this weekend?  Any yummy creations or good eating in general?